This paper results from a reflection promoted by Danielle Ferguson and Catherine Martin-Dunlop's paper, "Uncovering stories of resilience among successful African American women in STEM." In that paper, Ferguson and Martin-Dunlop analyze eight Black women's life stories and reveal their strategies to succeed in hostile STEM (science,…

Discussions and practices focused on Black boys' literacy development and equity in U.S. classrooms require serious thought and interrogation if the aim is to move these boys toward advanced levels of reading, writing, intellectual development, and human development. Sorely, Black boys have become subjects of educational, programming, and policy…

In this commentary, Festus Obiakor responds to Louise Taylor's "Seeking Equality of Educational Outcomes for Black Students: A Personal Account" (EJ1316951). He begins by describing himself as a Black man who has consistently endured racism, xenophobia, and prejudice in the United States. Growing up in Nigeria, he experienced lots of…

This essay outlines how Black placemaking, a sociological framework used to study Black residents in urban contexts, might be used to study Black students' experiences at historically White institutions (HWIs) of higher education. Black placemaking engages with the intersection of Blackness, place, structure, and agency. The author argues that…

Many of us recognize that it is important for black male students to have safe spaces to share their experiences, such as overt racism, microaggressions, and isolation, and connect with other students sharing the same experiences. However, Steven Thurston Oliver points out that, often, when attempts to provide community are just starting to take…

As editors for this special journal, Graves and Woods have compiled a discussion of the accuracy of the labels for Black children. It is exciting that they have brought together a team of scholars to tackle the very specific question posed by Hilliard (1991) and Guthrie (1976/2002) about the validity of IQ testing in regards to accurately and…

The purpose of this commentary is to acknowledge, illuminate, and counter the noticeable silences in the investigations of mathematics education researchers who conduct equity research with Black communities and other marginalized groups. For far too long, these communities have experienced a lengthy and complicated history of structural barriers;…

In this statement to the Rhode Island State Legislature, Ian Rowe presents a case for education equality. He acknowledges that America is not perfect, but there is a need to confront the inequities faced united rather than divided. In preparing for this testimony, he pulled 8th grade NAEP reading proficiency scores for Rhode Island students since…

Given continuing myths and misconceptions in the media and in the nation's schools about the language many African American students use, the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) believes the public deserves a statement reflective of the viewpoints of language and literacy scholars on Ebonics. The variety of Ebonics spoken by…

"Kappan"'s editor talks with the distinguished historian Vanessa Siddle Walker about the hidden -- and lost -- tradition of political advocacy by Black educational leaders in the segregated South. To promote equity and excellence for all students, she argues, today's educators will need to recover the sorts of extensive and…

John Dewey was a progressive theorist, a pragmatist, a philosopher, and arguably the most influential American educator of the twentieth century. Yet, despite extensive documentation about John Dewey's philosophies of education and democracy, there is limited research and no consensus about Dewey's views about race and racism. I use a combination…

St. Philip's College is the only community college in the nation that is both a Historically Black College (HBCU) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The college has a long history of evolving to serve the local population in San Antonio, Texas. Currently, more than 50 percent of St. Philip's students are Latinx, 29 percent are White, and 12…

In this interview, Beverly Daniel Tatum, President Emerita of Spelman College, shares her views of higher education. She notes the historical importance of historically black colleges and universities to our current leadership in all areas of society, their importance in rural areas or other places with limited educational options, and their need…

The NAACP, nation's largest civil rights organization, steps up its opposition to charter schools just as a president and new education secretary appear ready to kick the sector into high gear. In 2016, the NAACP passed a resolution calling on a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools, citing concerns about transparency and accountability,…

In this paper, I argue that researcher reflexivity, a common qualitative practice, is a specific tool that institutional research professionals endeavoring to conduct qualitative research studies involving Students of Color can use to unpack issues of power and privilege that exist between the researcher and the researched. This may be…